Comcast says they are not blocking specific traffic

It appears that Comcast is now claiming that they are not using traffic shaping or filtering to prevent customers from using specific protocols on their network. Meanwhile, many Comcast cable modem Internet customers are still complaining of issues when trying to use BitTorrent.

While the company does reserve the right to cut off any customer who is abusing the network by using too much bandwidth as covered in the Comcast user agreement, the company is said to have denied that they are filtering. Comcast, however, is certainly looking at user traffic to be able to analyze bandwidth usage. Most providers track the amount of bandwidth that residential customers use, while business users who normally pay higher rates for service are normally given a bit more latitude in the amount of bandwidth they use per month.

Traffic shaping or the throttling of bandwidth to certain sites or service is at the center of the current Net Neutrality debates that continue to flood the Internet. Devices/appliances are now available that are able to implement traffic shaping or bandwidth throttling based on parameters that are set by ISPs. Recently, some ISPs have already voiced their intention to start moving in this direction, hence the reason they are against Net Neutrality rules that are being discussed.